2015 – Primal Group

The Vastness of 21st Century Agriculture is Falling Short

Our global food industry sustains more people, with increased efficiency and a lower cost than any other period in human history. The problem is that big food continues to have an astounding influence on global health and the environment.

Through agricultural innovation and industrialization, the majority of the global food supply has now found itself under control of a select few major corporations around the world. The increase in efficiency is nothing short of impressive. The fact that California-based Earthbound Farm can harvest 10,000 pounds of lettuce per hour using a crew of only 12 people is simply astounding, especially considering that not so long ago this same production capacity would have taken a 40-person team the entire day.…

Heat Waves, Ice, Storms, Floods and Algae Bloom in 2015

Last year saw several records in the Earth’s climate system broken.

The American Meteorological Society alongside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and over 450 leading scientists from around the world all confirm that 2015 was the warmest year on record for land and sea temperatures. Last year, average temperatures rose by 1ºC higher than Preindustrial times. At the widely publicized United Nations COP21 meetings in Paris, 1.5ºC above preindustrial averages was pegged as the upper limit for climate change. We are getting so close to this limit that some scientists are already talking about a possible overshoot, which would have disastrous effects on our climate, biomes and all aspects of human activity, especially in securing the global food supply.…